$2,500
Plus airfare, hotel, meals
$.65 cents a mile for states within driving distance
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"Ghigna exudes energy from the moment he takes the stage. His performance is complete with funny faces, humorous postures, and comedic hand gestures. He breaks down complex writing theory and presents it in a fun and engaging way. He isn't afraid to get silly as evidenced by the uproarious laughter from his audiences."
--Jacob Probus, The Gadsden Messenger
School Visits
Grades K-5
A high-energy Poetry Performance that includes inter-active choral readings with the students, lively recitations, readings and story-telling that demonstrate where to get ideas and how to get started, and a Q&A session for students and teachers.
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"A humorous, entertaining, and instructional poetry program
designed to motivate students and teachers to read and write poetry."
Students and teachers have fun learning about
the various types of poetry
and where to find inspiration and ideas for their poems
Each presentation is 45 minutes, plus Q&A, and book signing
Space & Equipment for Presentations
Auditorium (or gymnasium, cafeteria, large room, or area of the library)
A wireless lavalier lapel mic or hand-held mic on a stand
and two long tables pushed together for display
Book Orders for Schools
We can email a sample Book Order form to send home for parents.
For events that require air travel,
please contact your local bookseller to handle book orders.
For events within driving distance in the Southeast,
we can order our books and deliver them the day of the event.
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Conferences & Book Festivals
"Father Goose: The Magic & Power of Poetry"
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"A brilliant performance. Ghigna graces the poetry platform with dynamic wit, vision, and verve.
Strong, original poems exquisitely performed with a commentary laced with humor befitting a seasoned poet/professor."
—The Miami Herald
“Will have kids clamoring for repeat performances
until they can read all the poems themselves.”
—Publisher's Weekly
“Fun to read aloud.” —New York Times
“Father Goose not only has a good sense of description and metaphor,
but also a good sense of sound and rhythm.”
—School Library Journal
"Timeless!" —Parents Magazine
“Playful poems well-suited to reading aloud.” —Horn Book
"Lively and fun!" —Kirkus Reviews
“Poems from the gifted pen of Charles Ghigna,
aptly dubbed Father Goose.”
—Washington Post
“An endearing, timeless, poetic look into the enchanted world of childhood.”
—Inkwell
“Captivating!”—BookPage
“Ghigna captures and celebrates both
the mundane and the monumental moments in a child’s life.”
—Atlantic Books
“Simple truths simply revealed.”
—Parents’ Choice
“Like Robert Louis Stevenson’s A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES
so popular a generation ago, nationally acclaimed poet Charles Ghigna’s
poems feature delightful, story-telling rhymes. They are told simply,
with the kind of charming detail that makes them instantly memorable.”
—The Birmingham News
“Ghigna’s poetry invites children to celebrate the natural world and the joys of language.
This treasury offers poems for every mood—quizzical and quiet, whimsical and silly—
all with a playful sense of sound and rhythm that make them fun to read aloud.”
—Kathleen Andersen, Editor, Cricket Magazines
"I have used Charles Ghigna's poetry in my classroom for more years than I can remember.
His book A POEM IS A FIREFLY is a wonderful introduction to poetry.
So great for teaching simile, metaphor, personification, etc. in an enjoyable, accessible way to my 3rd graders.
I highly recommend bringing Charles Ghigna into your classroom
or into your home for those lucky kids who have parents who read to them.
Andrea, 3rd Grade Teacher
"Charles Ghigna is not only a serious poet, but also a playful light verse writer
and one of the most popular writer's of imaginative verse for children today."
—Richard Armour
"Poet Charles Ghigna (aka 'Father Goose') is now on the cusp of becoming a major force in children's literature."
—Associated Press
"Charles Ghigna's work is impressive for its perceptiveness, its verbal felicities, its craftsmanship
He has a feeling for language, a sense of form, and he makes the experience he writes about
matter to himself and the reader."
—Robert Hayden
"Charles Ghigna is quite possibly one of the three or four best poets of his generation.
He is certainly the most enjoyable to read. His themes and subjects are the product of a sensibility
that is at once intensely emotional but strictly controlled.
Again and again the individual poems exhibit a rare and unusual mastery of his craft."
—Charles Henley
"Charles Ghigna, in my opinion, belongs with the best of contemporary American poets
He writes about a broad range of subjects (love, nature, family, religion, time, and sport, to name only a few)
and he treats each one with imagination, insight, occasional humor, and wisdom.
He is particularly adept at showing the extraordinary significance and meaning that lie,
like the prize bass in one of his poems, just beneath the surface of common, everyday experiences and events.
A Ghigna poem is always a revelation, a poignant reminder of the pathos and beauty of the human condition."
—Robert Hamblin
"Charles Ghigna is the finest new poet that I or anybody else has read in a long time."
—James Dickey
"Ghigna is versatile and ambitious, and has sharp eyes and ears.
He doesn't just crystalize his own nightmares and dreams in PLASTIC SOUP he imagines himself inside other people's.
To sample his freshness, power, and economy, try 'No Hunting Signs' or 'Xenophobia.'
For a taste of his outrageous humor, see 'Making Love to the Statue of Liberty' or 'Pitcher Perfect,'
this last a double-entendre poem far superior to E. E. Cummings' famous comparison of a woman to a new car.
In such triumphant moments, Ghigna writes better than just about any other poet I know."
—X. J. Kennedy
"Charles Ghigna is a master of the short form, the pithy poem.
This collection, DEAR POET, showcases his wit and ability to offer both a real poem and real advice.
I can see these poems enjoyed in the classroom as well as in the secret heart of any would-be poet."
—Jane Yolen
"Ghigna's poems, succinct, crisp, concise word-gems, offer readers thoughts to ponder over and over again.
His is a poetic journey one will want to travel aboard often."
—Lee Bennett Hopkins
"Charles Ghigna creates a masterful collection of poetic strength and clarity of vision."
—Paul Ruffin
"It is fun to read work by a poet who you can imagine had as much fun writing as you have reading.
Charles Ghigna's light verse reads so smoothly that it often tricks me into believing writing light verse is easy."
—Writer's Digest
"Charles Ghigna is a writer whose imagination, perception, verbal adroitness and wit
enable him to fly rings around those of us who even have the gall to pick up a pen, much less call ourselves writers."
—Saturday Evening Post
"Ghigna's worth seeing (even planning for) because he makes quite an impression on the little ones.
When he reads to them, he has a definite air of fun about him."
—The Birmingham News
"Ghigna captures perfectly the wonder — the sheer joy — of being a child."
—Humpty Dumpty
Testimonials
Charles Ghigna, affectionately known as Father Goose, is a wonderful poet and author of children’s books that will leave footprints on your heart!
Heidi Sprouse, Teacher
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I have seen Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) at several school author programs and library conferences. I am always enchanted by his open and friendly style of engaging the children and adult listeners in whatever poetry he is presenting. I have seen children who thought they hated poetry come away from his visits with a new appreciation for the possibilities of the 'fun' in poetry. His presentation is both entertaining and well-paced and even the toughest little critic is invariably won over by his clever humor.
April Moon, Children's Librarian
Emmet O'Neal Library
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Charles Ghigna is an engaging presenter. He has the children's undivided attention, and he is fascinating to hear. What a positive influence Father Goose is to young readers and writers!
Mary Dorough, Teacher
Crestline Elementary
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Father Goose had us all spellbound from the moment he picked up the microphone until the moment he put it down.
Sally Westbury, Principal
Pinebrook Elementary
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Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) is a delight! He charms children and adults, alike, always entertaining while teaching. He inspires and excites a crowd.
Wanda Jewel, Executive Director
Southeast Booksellers Conference
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Charles Ghigna (aka Father Goose) packed our meeting room to over capacity when we hosted students, teachers and parents from a local elementary school this past spring. All had a great time, took lots of pictures...and bought lots and lots and lots of books!
Jake Reiss, Owner/Manager
The Alabama Booksmith
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Charles Ghigna is a favorite at our WRITING TODAY Conference. He always receives enthusiastic evaluations on his presentations. He is consistently listed as an "exceptional presenter" and as what the attendees liked best about the conference. Father Goose was exceptional! wrote one attendee. I absolutely LOVED Charles Ghigna, wrote another. He was so enthusiastic and really gave of himself! We will obviously invite him again and be honored to have him. Those involved in presenting the conference love and respect him too.
Annie Green, Conference Coordinator
WRITING TODAY, Birmingham-Southern College
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Father Goose (Charles Ghigna) is a crowd favorite! His energetic and entertaining presentation is extremely popular among the thousands of children, parents and educators who attend our annual festival.
Jayne Pelaski, Director
Southern Kentucky Book Fest
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Charles Ghigna holds his audience in rapt delight with every performance of his poetry program. Whether performing for children or adults, he makes new fans with every presentation.
Linda Wilson, Director
Alabama Bound Book Fair
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Poet Charles Ghigna brought a "real-world" writing connection to our students. They were so excited to share their writing with a famous author. During his visit, he listened to my students read their original works and offered them positive feedback on ways in which they could improve their writing skills. His inspiring discussions, powerful question-and-answer sessions, and dramatic readings of his own works kept my students' pens moving through May!
Lisa Gaines, English Teacher
Homewood Middle School
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I have worked with Charles Ghigna for fifteen years as a school librarian and book sales chair for an annual Young Authors Conference attended by more than one thousand elementary students, teachers and parents each year. Charles does an amazing job of getting everyone involved in the writing process. Not all children's authors are especially good with children, but Father Goose is GREAT! He genuinely likes children and he entertains the adults as well!
Kate Vogel, Librarian
Inverness Elementary
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I liked the way Father Goose makes everything make so much sense. His poems are really good, and I like his funny rhymes.
Elementary School Student
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Mr. Ghigna was very funny telling stories. He makes you feel like you know how and why he wrote his poems.
Elementary School Student
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Charles Ghigna is a fantastic poet, and he is very, very funny. I hope he keeps on writing more poems.
Elementary School Student
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Mr. Ghigna is a truly gifted poet. His poems transport the reader to a different world and inspire the reader to see even the simplest things in new ways.
Elementary School Parent
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Charles Ghigna is so engaging and funny. His poetry definitely reflects his personality. I was actually sad when he finished his program. I loved hearing how he shares his passion for writing.
Elementary School Parent
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The presentation was very "kid-centered" inviting the audience members to join in and share. It was entertaining and amusing. The length of the presentation was perfect for our students.
Elementary School Teacher
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Mr. Ghigna did a wonderful job keeping the attention of each student, teacher, and parent. The way he relays the origin of each poem makes his poems more meaningful and special to each reader.
Elementary School Teacher
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What a delight, honor, and privilege to have Father Goose (Charles Ghigna) at the library. He is such a gifted writer! With his books, many have had the opportunity to share special time with those they love, time, and time, and time again.
Gail Barton
Samford University Library
